Male egg can refer to either:
#An egg that artificially contains genetic material from a male.
#An egg from a haplodiploid species such as an ant or bee that is unfertilized and will hatch a male
#A fertilized egg that a male organism is developing in
This article focuses on the first definition.
Male eggs are the result of a process in which the eggs of a female would be emptied of their genetic contents (a technique similar to that used in the
cloning
Cloning is the process of producing individual organisms with identical genomes, either by natural or artificial means. In nature, some organisms produce clones through asexual reproduction; this reproduction of an organism by itself without ...
process), and those contents would be replaced with male DNA. Such eggs could then be fertilized by sperm. The procedure was conceived by
Calum MacKellar, a Scottish bioethicist. With this technique, two males could be the biological parents of a child. However, such a procedure would additionally require an
artificial womb or a female
gestational carrier.
[EUROPEAN BIOETHICAL RESEARCH: "CHILDREN WITH TWO GENETIC FATHERS"](_blank)
[BBC News: "Male-only conception 'highly speculative'"](_blank)
/ref>[Center for Genetics and Society: "Are male eggs and female sperm on the horizon?"](_blank)
/ref>
In 2023, male eggs from male mice cells were developed and used to create bi-paternal mice that grew into adulthood; bi-paternal mice had been obtained in 2008, but they only survived for a few days.
See also
* Female sperm
* Male pregnancy
* LGBT reproduction
* Genomic imprinting
Genomic imprinting is an epigenetic phenomenon that causes genes to be expressed or not, depending on whether they are inherited from the female or male parent. Genes can also be partially imprinted. Partial imprinting occurs when alleles from b ...
References
Applied genetics
Biological engineering
Biotechnology
Genetic engineering
Medical ethics
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Sexuality